European Nations Cup participation for Malta Rugby Football Union Women’s Team

Posted By Sportinmalta On July 7, 2015 @ 2:14 pm In Featured,Rugby | No Comments

Gavin Muscat

The Malta Rugby Football Union’s women 7s national team will be participating in the forthcoming European Nations Cup Division B, between the 20th and 21st June in Zagreb, Croatia.

This tournament forms part of the Olympic qualification process since rugby 7s has been incorporated as an Olympic sport and will debut in the 2016 Games in Rio.

The Maltese ladies will be taking part in Division B, where twelve teams will compete. These teams were drawn into three pools and Malta will be playing against hosts Croatia, Luxembourg and Austria.

A team of twelve players will be travelling to Croatia, and the Maltese team will see the return of experienced players with the likes of the captain, Marion Azzopardi and sisters Beverie and Tessabelle Sultana. Five new players will make their international debut this year.

National team training, under the guidance of Carmelo Longo and the MRFU’s Director of Rugby, Damian Neill, kept going throughout the season, however intensity ramped up once the season was over to developer a stronger team who could provide a good challenge in Croatia.

The Maltese ladies hope to improve on last year’s fifth position. Last year’s winners, Hungary went on to compete in Division A this year.

Commenting about the forthcoming European Cup MFRU President Brian Dalton, wished the team every success in Croatia and encouraged more women to take up this ever growing sport.